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General country information
Portugal,
bordered to the north and east by Spain
and to the west and south by the Atlantic
Ocean, is a full member of the EU. The
country is mountainous north of the Tagus
River, with plains to the south. Offshore
its territories include Madeira, and the
Azores.
Summers are hot and dry, winters
are relatively wet with most rain falling
in November
and December.
Portugal has a diversified and increasingly
service based economy which is now substantially
privatised. Although Portugal is relatively
poor by western European standards, economic
growth has been above the EU average for
much of the past decade although it fell
back between 2001 and 2003. The latest OECD
assessment is that the economy emerged from
recession in 2004, driven by exports and
private domestic demand. Real GDP growth
is expected to pick up and reach 2.75 per
cent in 2006. Inflation should remain low.
Like
the economy, the property market saw a
downturn in 2001and 2002.
But the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyor’s
European Housing Review 2005 reports that ‘since
2003 the housing market seems to have been
leading economy out of recession with rises
in prices – up by 10 per cent in 2003,
followed by a more moderate 7 per cent forecast
for 2004’. RICS concludes that ‘the
prognosis is good for 2005’.
Portugal has a land registry system that
records ownership of property and any encumbrances
or charges.
As in Italy, property transactions usually
entail a preliminary (promissory) contract
stage at which the buyer pays a deposit.
Completion has to be formalised before a
notary. The notary will have checked that
the documentation is in order and will provide
a copy of the entry in his official books
as proof of purchase.
It
is at this stage that settlement of the
purchase price, legal
fees and transfer taxes
will be required. Transfer taxes are based
on the value of the property and have a starting
threshold of about £56,000. Thereafter
they range from 2 per cent to 8 per cent
of value, the higher figure applying to properties
valued in excess of about £350,000.
Estate
agents fees are usually paid by the seller
but this means estate agents, who
are state licensed, work on behalf od the
seller rather than the buyer.
It
used to be that buying property through
a company brought capital
gains tax and inheritance
tax benefits, but these rules are being changed
and in some instances buying through offshore
companies will in future be detrimental to
investors’ tax positions.
Income tax is also be levied on properties
owned by non-Portuguese based on the value
of the property whether or not it is rented
out.
Country information - Portugal |
Area: |
90,000 sq km |
Population: |
10.5m (July 2004
est.) |
| Principal
cities: |
Lisbon,
Faro
|
Median
age of population: |
total: 37.9 years
male: 35.8 years
female: 40 years (2004 est.) |
| Language: |
Portuguese |
Employment
rate: |
93.6% |
Flying
time
from UK: |
Lisbon 2.5hrs
Faro - 4.4hrs |
Currency: |
euro (EUR) |
Time
difference
from UK: |
Lisbon
No UTC/
GMT offset |
Rate
of inflation: |
3.3% (2003 est.) |
International
dialling code: |
+351 |
GDP
per person: |
$18,000 |
| Climate: |
Maritime temperate;
cool and rainy in north, warmer
and drier in south |
|